MMS ASX Week ended 31 Jul 2026

Weekly Investor Report

McMillan Shakespeare Limited · Industrials · Staffing & Employment Services

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Latest close 19.50 AUD
0.3% latest week
Weekly setup

Constructive, but selective

The weekly trend is active. Price is 13.7% above the Trend Line and sits at 90.3% of its 52-week range. The latest completed week returned 0.3%, after a 1.2% four-week move. The latest factor snapshot indicates quality ranks strongly versus its universe; growth ranks weakly; valuation is expensive relative to peers. The latest news-sentiment score is 50/100. Near-term considerations: price is close to its 52-week high; volume confirmation is below normal.

Setup score 59 out of 100
Latest Close 19.50 AUD 31 Jul 2026
1W Return 0.3% latest completed week
4W Return 1.2% short-term follow-through
12W Return 5.5% quarterly tape
Trend Breadth 53.8% 28 of 52 weeks active
Volume Ratio 0.9x vs 13-week average
What is working
  • The trend backdrop is active with a 11-week active streak.
  • Price is above the Trend Line, keeping the weekly tape constructive.
  • Price is above Fair Value, showing premium demand versus the model.
  • Activity pressure is positive on the latest completed week.
What could go wrong
  • Next-week expectancy is negative at 44.90% based on similar historical setup states.
  • 2 reversal markers appear in the recent smart-money tape.
What to watch next
  • Price is close to its 52-week high; watch for continuation or exhaustion.
  • Trend Line remains the key weekly regime level.
  • Activity pressure is the gauge to monitor for confirmation or fade.
  • A volume ratio above 1.5x would show stronger participation in the next move.
Price follow-through 0.3% Latest completed week; four-week move 1.2%. Indicator stack 68/65 Trend and activity pressure are weighted against the latest 12-week confirmation window. Trend backdrop Active The trend backdrop defines the current weekly regime. Patient Capital Quiet Activity-pressure buy-signal status for institutional accumulation timing. Next-Week Expectancy Negative 44.90% Historical one-week expectancy contributes to the evidence score when direction is confirmed. News sentiment 50/100 8 relevant articles in the latest sentiment read.
01 · Price action

Where price is—and whether the trend supports it

The weekly trend is active. Price is 13.7% above the Trend Line and sits at 90.3% of its 52-week range. The latest completed week returned 0.3%, after a 1.2% four-week move.

Study the full chart

52-week price path

Price vs Trend Line and Fair Value
Price Trend Line Fair Value
02 · Volume and demand

Is real participation confirming the move?

Latest weekly volume is 0.9x the 13-week average. Participation is below its recent norm, so price strength is not receiving full volume confirmation.

26-week volume confirmation

Bar height shows volume; colour shows the weekly price direction
6 Feb 13 Feb 20 Feb 27 Feb 6 Mar 13 Mar 20 Mar 27 Mar 3 Apr 10 Apr 17 Apr 24 Apr 1 May 8 May 15 May 22 May 29 May 5 Jun 12 Jun 19 Jun 26 Jun 3 Jul 10 Jul 17 Jul 24 Jul 31 Jul
Up week Down week
Demand beneath price

Activity pressure and institutional-style signals

These indicators assess whether participation is improving beneath the headline price move. They are supporting evidence, not proof of institutional buying.

Activity pressure path

Latest 0.9812-week average 0.64

12-week confirmation

Trend active11/12Active trend-backdrop weeks in the latest 12-week window.
Positive pressure12/12Weeks with constructive activity pressure in the latest 12-week window.
Positive leadership12/12Weeks with positive relative leadership in the latest 12-week window.
Activity pressure0.98Current proprietary activity-pressure read.
Buy signals0Accumulation signal count in the latest 12 weeks.
Reversal markers22 reversal markers

No recent accumulation markers. 2 reversal markers.

03 · Momentum and leadership

Is performance persistent—and is the stock leading?

Performance is 1.2% over four weeks, 5.5% over 12 weeks, and 18.3% over one year. The current trend has remained active for 11 consecutive weeks.

Performance by holding period

1W0.3%
4W1.2%
12W5.5%
26W19.2%
52W18.3%
Active trend streak11 weeks
Active weeks in one year28
Trend breadth53.8%

Activity pressure vs relative leadership

Activity pressureRelative leadership
Pressure0.87Latest activity-pressure read.
Pressure change-10.2%Four-week change in activity pressure.
Leadership13.32Latest relative-leadership reading.
RS change-12.3%Four-week change in relative leadership.
04 · Fundamentals and valuation

What investors are paying for—and the quality behind it

The latest factor snapshot indicates quality ranks strongly versus its universe; growth ranks weakly; valuation is expensive relative to peers.

Open full factor analysis
Factor week 26 Jul 2026 Financial statements through 30 Jun 2025 Field coverage 85% Model confidence 45%

Relative factor standing

Higher display scores are better. Each score is converted from the underlying universe rank, where rank 1 is best.

Overall factor strength48/100Blend of value, momentum, and quality. Underlying universe rank 53; rank 1 is best.
Value6/100Relative valuation strength. Underlying universe rank 95; rank 1 is best.
Quality93/100Profitability and accounting quality. Underlying universe rank 8; rank 1 is best.
Momentum91/100Medium-term price momentum. Underlying universe rank 10; rank 1 is best.
Growth18/100Revenue and earnings growth. Underlying universe rank 83; rank 1 is best.
How to read this

Quality and valuation are separate questions

A strong company can still carry a demanding valuation. This report shows profitability, growth, balance-sheet strength, and the price paid for those characteristics separately.

Valuation

How much investors are paying for earnings, sales, and cash flow.

P/E
14.2x
Price divided by trailing earnings.
Price / sales
3.1x
Market value relative to trailing revenue.
EV / EBITDA
8.1x
Enterprise value relative to operating cash earnings.
Free-cash-flow yield
-4.0%
Free cash flow as a share of enterprise value.

Business quality

Margins and the return generated on invested capital.

Gross margin
100.0%
Gross profit retained from each unit of revenue.
Operating margin
10.7%
Operating profit retained from revenue.
Free-cash-flow margin
-18.1%
Free cash flow generated from revenue.
Return on invested capital
4.7%
Operating return generated on invested capital.

Growth and financial strength

Recent business growth and accounting strength.

Revenue growth
4.8%
Latest one-year revenue growth.
EPS growth
14.1%
Latest one-year earnings-per-share growth.
Free-cash-flow growth
-
Latest one-year free-cash-flow growth.
Piotroski F-score
3/9
Nine-point accounting-strength checklist.

Shareholder return and balance sheet

Cash returned to owners and financial leverage.

Dividend yield
7.2%
Cash dividends relative to market value.
Buyback yield
0.2%
Net share repurchases relative to market value.
Shareholder yield
7.4%
Dividend yield plus net buyback yield.
Net debt / EBITDA
2.6x
Balance-sheet debt relative to operating cash earnings.
05 · Ownership, options, and sentiment

What other market participants are doing

Options, insider transactions, market sentiment, and activity-pressure signals can confirm or challenge the price story. None should be used alone.

Insider activity-

No recent insider transactions are stored for this company.

News sentiment50/100

Weighted news tone is neutral across 8 relevant articles.

0 positive · 8 neutral · 0 negative
Patient CapitalQuiet

Activity-pressure buy-signal evidence highlights potential institutional accumulation windows.

No recent buy signal
06 · Catalysts and risk

What can move the shares—and how volatile the path has been

Event timing, options-implied movement, drawdown, and weekly return distribution frame the risk around the current setup.

Next earnings-No event is currently stored.
Options expected move-Nearest-chain priced movement where available.
52-week drawdown-3.2%Distance below the 52-week high.
13-week volatility5.1%Standard deviation of weekly returns.

Weekly gains and losses

Latest 26 completed weeks

Each bar is one week. Gains rise above the zero line; losses fall below it. Taller bars mean a larger weekly move.

Weeks higher15 of 2611 weeks finished lower.
Best week+16.3%Week of 8 May.
Worst week-8.3%Week of 27 Feb.
Latest week+0.3%Week of 31 Jul.

Shape of recent returns

Strong gains5
Modest gains10
Flat weeks0
Modest losses8
Sharp losses3
Recent vol5.1%13-week weekly-return volatility.
Base vol4.0%52-week weekly-return volatility.
Up/down split28/24Count of positive and negative weeks in the 52-week window.
Average skew2.9% / -2.5%Average positive week versus average negative week.
07 · Sector and peer context

Is this stock leading—or simply moving with its group?

Sector and industry breadth distinguish company-specific strength from a broad group move.

08 · Evidence and weekly data

The underlying research record

Every top-level statement above should be traceable to a stored market, fundamental, event, or positioning observation.

Weekly tape60/100

Trend, activity pressure, participation, and risk combine to a 60/100 tape read.

 Indicator analysis85/100

Latest 12-week confirmation: trend 11/12, activity pressure 12/12, relative leadership 12/12.

Activity pressure 0.98; 2 reversal markers Next-Week ExpectancyNegative 44.90%

Next-week expectancy is negative with a 44.90% historical one-week setup read.

Adds short-term historical context without overriding trend, activity, or relative leadership. Factors58/100

O'Shaughnessy factor stack blends value, quality, momentum, and confidence.

Buyback Yield rank 9; Small Cap Core rank 24 Patient CapitalQuiet

Activity-pressure buy-signal evidence highlights potential institutional accumulation windows.

No recent buy signal Sentiment50/100

Weighted news tone is neutral across 8 relevant articles.

How Is McMillan Shakespeare (ASX:MMS) Framing the ASX Test? Insiders50/100

No recent insider transaction evidence is stored.

 Earnings50/100

No stored earnings event is currently attached to this ticker.
WeekCloseReturnTrend LineFair ValuePressureLeadershipVolumeTrend
31 Jul 202619.50 AUD0.3%17.15 AUD15.00 AUD0.8713.32865.7KOn
24 Jul 202619.44 AUD-2.2%17.05 AUD14.98 AUD1.0015.92712.9KOn
17 Jul 202619.87 AUD2.8%16.94 AUD14.95 AUD1.0418.57998.8KOn
10 Jul 202619.33 AUD0.4%16.82 AUD14.91 AUD0.9815.71895.0KOn
3 Jul 202619.26 AUD-0.4%16.71 AUD14.88 AUD0.9715.191.1MOn
26 Jun 202619.33 AUD-1.5%16.62 AUD14.84 AUD1.0117.20112.2KOn
19 Jun 202619.62 AUD0.3%16.51 AUD14.80 AUD0.9718.74122.7KOn
12 Jun 202619.57 AUD1.6%16.37 AUD14.76 AUD1.0219.49205.3KOn
5 Jun 202619.26 AUD5.5%16.23 AUD14.72 AUD0.9920.671.5MOn
29 May 202618.26 AUD-1.6%16.09 AUD14.67 AUD1.0213.62256.9KOn
22 May 202618.56 AUD5.5%16.03 AUD14.63 AUD0.8116.961.4MOn
15 May 202617.59 AUD-4.8%15.97 AUD14.59 AUD0.4511.611.3MOff
8 May 202618.48 AUD16.3%15.94 AUD14.55 AUD0.1116.022.6MOff
1 May 202615.89 AUD0.6%15.87 AUD14.51 AUD-0.390.24985.0KOff
How to use this report

This is a completed-week research summary. It explains the available evidence and its conflicts; it does not predict a guaranteed outcome or replace your own risk assessment. Fundamental figures may refer to an earlier financial reporting period, which is shown above.